All That I'm Living For
by Phoenix.Rising.819
Summary: What do you do when you're a daugher of Hades and your powers get slightly out of hand, causing you to kill the ones around you with a single touch? Please read and review; this is my first time using an oc so bear with me.
1. Chapter 1

Story time again! This is my first time publishing a story involving OCs so I hope I did well with that and keeping Hades in character. I tried anyway. Mostly this story was inspired because of a quiz I took that said my immortal parent would've been Hades so I decided to write myself as a daughter of Hades. Hopefully this won't bore anybody and maybe, I again hope, you'll get a few laughs out of it. Please review and tell me what you think about it. Anyway. Time for me to shut up so you can start reading.

Chapter 1

My name is Becca Fortuna, I'm 17 years old, and I, am a half-blood. Some of you may be wondering what a half-blood is. A larger portion of you probably think I belong in the nut house. For those of you that feel that way, you should find this story rather amusing. But, for those of you who actually believe me, I guarantee you this story is true. The problem is none of you have seen these events I'm about to describe for what they are because you mortal. I'm not. I'm a demigod. A half-blood. And this, dear audience, is my story...

My life has never been a tale for the faint of heart. Really I don't know of any half-blood's tale whose wouldn't be, unless we're talking about the children of Aphrodite. They've got it easy. Dashing good looks, able to attract the opposite sex with a mere glance, popularity, I could go on listing their advantages in life. My life's never been that easy because I've never had that kind of good luck. Ironic my last name's Italian for "fortune" don't you think? But I wouldn't want my life easy, ok admittedly sometimes yeah, but it's made me stronger for the journey ahead. By now you're probably wondering when I'm ever going to get to the point. Well, you see, being a half-blood has it's disadvantages as well at least when it comes to writing. The ADHD makes it hard to write this without jumping around to all different kinds of things. It can make focusing on the point hard when there's really so much to tell. The dyslexia would make this not even possible if I wasn't writing this in Greek. It's the other languages that confuse me. But Greek has made sense since the day I was born. And while I'm on the subject of being born I guess I really should be getting to "the point".

I was born in a little town in America near the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. My mother was an Italian immigrant who had moved to America in hopes of a better life. As for my father, we'll get to that a little later on. As I was saying, my mother and I lived together by ourselves, just the two of us. We weren't alone though. We had friends and family all around. Mostly because of my mother. As an Italian she could do pretty well in the social line. For me, it wasn't like that. Despite inheriting my mother's Italian heritage I don't get along well with people much at all and I never understood why, until later. But my mom, she had friends all over the town we lived in. And she had quite a few lovers as well. She was a very beautiful woman with long brown hair and knowing brown eyes, so it's quite understandable. But she just never seemed really happy with anyone she went with. I never really understood that at the time, because I would've loved having all the attention. It seems for me either I just didn't get out enough or boy s just didn't find me attractive. Probably the latter because they seemed to ignore my desperately shy glances. I- there goes the ADHD again. As I was saying before I rudely interrupted myself, about my mother, she's great. She's supportive and tries to do what she thinks is best for me. Sometimes she worries too much, but when she's angry, you'd better clear out. Italian passion is not to be underestimated.

I guess I really should mention something about my dad. I don't really know much about him. He left when I was a baby so I have no memory of him. I've learned more about him from googling mythology. Yes mythology, and no I'm not crazy. You see, my father was one of the gods from the tales of Greek mythology that we all thought were just legends. Well, I'm living proof that they're not legends. It's all real, very real. Most people can't see this as being fact because of the Mist, which I've been told is like a form of magic that blinds most mortals from the world of immortality. But if you're a demigod like myself, then you can see this and believe it. Hopefully though if you're a demigod your father isn't one of the Big Three. Mine is. And it makes me ten times more vulnerable to danger. Although getting myself killed wouldn't be too bad I suppose. On the bright side I'd at least get to meet my dad again. That's right. My dad is Hades, Lord of the Dead, and I am his daughter.


	2. Chapter 2

Another update! I have to warn you all though, there's a few chapters of "origin story" before I get to the actual thing. And also to help make it clearer, this story's told when the mc is like 17 but she's more like 12 going on 13 in this part being described. Hope this helps and I hope this chapter's not lame.

Chapter 2

I'll never forget the day I first came to Camp Half-Blood. A lot of things had already occurred that day to make it memorable enough, like my house had been intruded upon by a stray hellhound trying to kill me (it wasn't until later I found out it had just wanted to play), a startling revelation of what I was, and how I would be separated from my own mother and everything I'd ever known for an indefinite amount of time. All my problems that day started at school. Which I guess is pretty normal considering most kids problems started when they went to school. At least most kids aren't talking the same degree of problems. Oh, did I forget to mention that "school" was actually my room? You see, I've been homeschooled my entire life so I've never been to a public school although I've always dreamed about it. It sounded so wonderful and terrifying at once being around so many kids my age. You can probably tell I don't get out much, which is true. Mom insisted that I stay home as much as I could take it. But sometimes I just wanted to break free of my house and go somewhere spontaneous with the friends I imagined I had and just have some good clean fun. When you're a half-blood, you don't always get to do what you want because of safety issues. But back to the original topic. I was sitting quietly in my room trying to enunciate "le chat est noir" like the woman on my Rosetta Stone French cd had said it, when I was rudely interrupted by a horrendously loud noise. I jumped up from where I sat startled and confused. Fear kept me immobile for a few seconds but curiosity won out and I decided to see what had made the noise. I cautiously exited my room but nothing seemed out of place. All around the house everything seemed fine. I shrugged it off and went back to my room. It was then I was met with a most unpleasant surprise. There in my room stood a snarling wolf like creature. It looked like a wolf only much uglier. Either way it was a hideous looking beast that was looking right at me as if it was a starving child and I was a happy meal. It sniffed the air and it's expression changed. It looked almost...friendly. I didn't know what to do. If I ran for help, it'd chase after me and overtake me. If I was still, at some point it'd stop staring at me with those mean, yet playful, looking eyes and jump on me. So I just stood there for a moment wondering what to do when I heard prospect of help arriving as my Mom came in through the door carrying a bundle of groceries.

"Mom!" I shouted nervously.

"I'm a little busy right now," I heard her reply.

I'm facing a life or death situation and all I get is "I'm a little busy right now". The monster was still looking at me but then started bounding toward me and it pounced. Like any person with good sense, I ran. Not only did I run, but I ran screaming all the way throughout our hallway. This got my Mom's attention.

"What's going o-" she said and realized there was a real threat here.

"How did that dog get in the house?" she cried.

"THAT'S NO DOG!" I yelled. By now I was throwing anything I could get my hands on at it. At last I happened upon a good solid chair that I promptly picked up and beat the monster with. That seemed to hurt his feelings because he whimpered and took off flying, exiting our house via the window. My mom just looked at me like I was crazy.

"Couldn't you see that wolf...monster...thing...was a problem?" I questioned angrily.

"It just looked like a dog to me..."she said. Then it was as if a huge realization hit her. Then she looked at me with a look that was very concerned and worried.

"Pack up your stuff."

"What?"

"Get together some of the stuff you think you'll need or want the most. I'm afraid the time has come."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll explain in the car just do as I asked."

"Ok..."

I knew better than to argue, so I did what she asked. I packed up everything that was important to me: my laptop, ipod, portable dvd player, some favorite books and movies, my Wii, some paper and pencils, and my photo album that held family pictures. I also collected some favorite clothes and basic essentials. I loaded it all into the car and we were off. Little did I know that was the last time I'd see my home for a long time...


	3. Chapter 3

Another update! And FYI flash, I just made up the Tide Bleach thing. Idk if that'd actually cover up a demigod sent...

Chapter 3

The car ride was unlike any I'd ever had before. For a little while we just rode in total silence. As bad as I wanted to know what was going on, I wasn't much of a conversation starter so I just kept my mouth shut. The suspense was bothering me so bad I began to fidget. I suppose that's what brought my mom back down to earth from whatever it was she'd been thinking about. At last, she spoke.

"I was hoping it would never come to this...I was hoping I wouldn't have to let you go so soon..."

I could see tears welling up in her eyes now. Thoroughly confused, I asked," What do you mean? What's going on?" It sounded a little more worried than I'd wanted it to.

"Well, it all started close to 13 years ago," she began. "A little while before you were born. It was then I met your father. I know we've never talked about your father before, but the reason why has been because I was saving it all up for now."

I listened attentively. I'd always wondered a great deal about my father and now, finally, was my chance to stop wondering and know for sure.

"We met at a restaurant in town. When I first saw him, he was sitting in a corner to himself. He looked very troubled and being the kind of person I am I struck up a conversation with him. We both enjoyed each other's company and agreed to meet again soon. Things became more serious between us and as time passed we fell in love. We spent as much time as we could together, which was hard to do as it seemed your father was always busy with something he never would tell me about. His mysterious nature was part of what attracted me to him and I didn't think too much about it at the time. But one day at a doctor's appointment I discovered I was pregnant with you. That was a miracle in itself as I had been told I could never have children. I was so excited I didn't know what to do. I told your father about it as soon as I could. He seemed almost upset. I couldn't understand why."

She paused for a moment as if lost in memories, which was fine with me as I needed a moment for all of that to sink in. Then she continued.

"I didn't ever see him again until a few days after you were born. He told me he was sorry he hadn't been there for me in the last 9 months but he'd had serious business to take care of. I couldn't take his secrecy anymore so I asked him what could be so much more important than our child. It was then I discovered the truth."

Again she paused for a moment, as if trying to find a way to break the news to me, but the look on her face told me her search had been in vain.

"I don't really know how to tell you this. It's going to be hard to believe but your father is one of the gods from the Greek myths of old."

My first reaction was hysterical laughter. That had to be the funniest joke my mom had ever told. And then I unfortunately remembered my mom hardly ever joked; it was me who was the one making all the wise cracks about stuff. When I looked at her, I saw an intense sincerity in her face and I knew then she wasn't fooling around. It was a hard concept to grasp. Even for me. I have a very vivid imagination and can believe a great deal of things but this was pushing it. I'd always imagined my dad as a hero. Sometimes even with the whole superhero cape and garb. But I never saw this coming.

"I know this is hard to even comprehend," my mom said, "but it's the honest truth."

If it hadn't been for the incident with the monster in my room, I just might not have believed her.

"I believe you," I said quietly. I really didn't know what to say at that point. Except one thing kept running through my mind so I blurted it out. "Who exactly was my father?"

"I'm...not really sure. He never told me that part. When I last saw him he could only stay for a little while and he had more important things to say at the time."

I was completely baffled. But that only lasted for a few seconds as I soon blurted out, " What could possibly be sooo important that he wouldn't tell you who he was?"

"You."

"Oh." I didn't know what to say next, but my mom knew me pretty well and spoke for me.

"Because you were, a demigod, there were a lot of things about you that would be different from other children. Like today for instance. That monster was after you. It's intention was to kill you I'm sure. I'd been able to prevent this problem most of the time, by washing all your clothes in Tide Bleach with a little vinegar."

That answered a huge question. I'd always wondered why my clothes had stuck to the high heavens. I'd figured I just needed to take more baths or something.

"Monsters can sniff you out easier if I didn't mask your sent somehow. I'm not sure how that thing was able to find you. Maybe I just didn't use enough vinegar in your clothes this week. But I think the real reason is because you're growing up on me. As you age, you become more noticeable to both gods and monsters alike. I'm afraid you've come to that age...That's why I tried to keep you home as much as I could. To prevent any chance that something like this would happen."

"What exactly is 'happening'?" I inquired.

"Your father instructed me that when the time came that I felt it was too dangerous to keep you at home, that I should take you to a summer camp called Camp Half-Blood."

"What's that?"

"I know just about as much as you do on that. All I know for sure is that it is a place for people like you. A place you'll be safe."


	4. Chapter 4

Only 1 more chapter till I get through this origin stuff lol. And the next one's pretty short anyway.

Chapter 4

The rest of the car ride to Camp-Half Blood was horrible. Not only was I trying to come to terms with the fact that my father was a god from one of the old Greek myths, making me a demigod, and the fact that monsters all around were out to get me, AND that I was going to who knows where for an indefinite about of time when I rarely ever left the house, I was also having a terrible time just riding in the car. I'd never sat still so long of a time before and I was restless. We had to make several stops along the way for bathroom breaks or to just stretch our legs a bit. After what felt like days of endless travel in an uncomfortable, almost claustrophobic car (my imagination rescued me once again from insanity by keeping me preoccupied), we finally arrived at our destination point. If it'd been me driving we would've went right past the place as my dyslexia was acting up and I couldn't make out what the sign out front said. As glad as I was to be done riding in a car for a while, that small relief was no comfort at all compared to the anxiety of what awaited me across that line into the unknown. My mom stopped the car and put it in park. We both got out. I was going to get out some of my baggage but my mom stopped me. Clearly she still had more to say.

"This is so hard for me. Letting you go like this. I wish it didn't have to come to this. But I know this is what's best for you. I wish I could just keep you forever." It was here she finally broke down, while embarrassing me in a hug.

I'd always dreamed of being somewhere by myself, away from my mom and everyone else in the world. But even thought I still felt that way, I hated that I was hurting her so much by going away. It left me in a great deal of conflict between doing what I'd always wanted and having to hurt someone in the process. So, I did the only thing I could do at the time. I hugged back.

"I'll be alright Mom. I can make it through this. It's not like I'll never see you again...right?"

She let go of me and sniffed a bit. "I don't know. I can't enter the camp because I am mortal. Just a human. If the ones in charge of the camp thinks it's safe, then I'll visit you when I can and we'll do something fun together. I just want you to be safe first."

There she went again. Worrying too much. "It'll be ok. I think they'll allow me some time in the rest of the world."

She smiled a little. "I'm so proud of you for being so brave. Another child might not have handled it as well as you."

I was a good faker. I had a gift for it. Inside me, I was so terrified I was regretting terribly that I'd left the paper bags at home. I could've really used one to slow my breathing back to normal. I didn't know what to say really so I just smiled. Even though I was a good faker, I was terrible at emotional conversations. I could never find the words for what I wanted to say until it was too late to say it.

"Well," she said as she handed me some of my stuff, "I guess you should go inside."

I had all of my stuff now and was ready to enter Camp Half-Blood...physically mind you. I was nowhere near psychologically ready as you'll soon find out. But I still had yet to say goodbye to my mother. Even the word left a nasty taste in my mouth.

"I want you to behave, and do the best you can in everything and to keep in touch with email when you can, and-"

"Mom, I'll be fine," I reassured her.

"I know...I'm just a little nervous."

I could tell that by the dramatic hand gesturing.

"You do know I love you?" she asked.

"Yeah mom, I know...I love you too."

She gave me one last hug then.

"Goodbye..."

"Bye," I said with a bit of uncertainty.

I then took my first step into the unknown...


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry this is short but the next will be a little longer!

Chapter 5

That was a little over 5 years ago. A lot had occurred between first entering the camp and where I am now. I've overcome some fears but I still have some to work on. Like for example, my first day at camp; I was terrified. To a kid who'd never got out much, being set in a whole new environment was not an easy adjustment. I had trouble with a lot of the sports we played, like capture the flag or sword fighting practice, mostly because I wasn't very athletic. More like not athletic at all. Most of all I had bad social skills as I've mentioned before. A lot of the kids there seemed scared of me. Especially after the day my father, Hades, claimed me. I had just been trying to make some conversation with some of my roommates in the Hermes cabin when everyone started pointing at something over my head. I was completely baffled as to what was going on and a little embarrassed with so many people looking at me. I looked up over my head and caught a glimpse of a black colored helmet shaped thing over me. Just as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished into thin air. From that moment forward nothing was ever the same. One of the guys, rather the centaur, that helped run the camp told me that the black helm that had floated above me was the symbol of Hades. He seemed troubled by this news, which I didn't really understand at first. No one would tell me anything, so I found out myself via my laptop. I was pleasantly surprised to find even camps for demigods have wi fi. I wasn't quite as pleased to learn about my ancestory. Nor was anybody else for that matter. The other kids mostly tried to stay away from me as much as possible, which didn't bother me too much. After all I was no social butterfly. More like a social black widow.

I got special privileges since was the only kid of Hades. I got a cabin all to myself where I wouldn't be bothered by others and could do what I wanted. Plus I got to choose what activities I wanted to participate in. Most of the time I picked the arts and crafts over the more rigorous activities. As much as I liked sword fighting, I just didn't have the endurance for much of it. Even though all of that was great, at times I did get lonely. I wasn't completely friendless though. One of the wood nymphs who served us our meals became good friends with me. We had some things in common. Particularly our distaste at having to wear bright orange T-shirts over choosing our own clothing. But it was her shy nature that was all to similar to my own that made me want to befriend her at first. We got to talking one time after a supper meal and have been best buddies ever since.

Everything might would've gone pretty well for me for the rest of my life, if everything had stayed the same. I would've been fairly content to just hang around a lot of weird kids like myself who didn't want much to do with me, stay in touch with my mom via email and the occasional shopping trips we had together along with family time during Christmas, and gaining my education with home school and defensive training at camp. But that's not the way life works all the time. Life changes and you have to change with it. I guess you could say my "life changing" event started sometime about last year, just before my 16th birthday. Actually it was the day before my birthday when I started noticing something off a little. But everything only got worse the next day. Because by then I'd- well, why don't I just start from the top and get to that part a little later.


	6. Chapter 6

I have to say this was one of my favorite chapters to write. I hope it's one of ur favorites to read! Oh and as a sidenote, Cadi is pronounced like Katie. I found the name at and thought it was cool.

Chapter 6

It started out as a warm sunshiny day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and I immediately knew today wasn't going to be fun. I loved it much better when the sky had clouds in it. I liked it even better when the rain came but that happened only every once in a while because the weather can be controlled at our camp. Weird but true. Anyway, I woke up at the crack of 8 a.m. not feeling too great. Which didn't really surprise me. I was a night owl and not an early bird. I realized I was late for breakfast, which again was not surprising as I've been late for breakfast everyday since I came on the premises. I was barley able to put on some fresh clothes: a horribly orange t-shirt that read "Camp Half-Blood" and some of my own black capris mixed with converse sneakers. I rushed out of my cabin towards the Dinning Pavilion where we all gathered for our meals. Most everyone had started eating when I'd gotten there. I was earlier than I'd thought. I just slid into the line which consisted now of only 4 people including me. And as fate would have it, there were 2 children of Aphrodite in that line, both of which were brothers. Not half brothers like the rest were but these 2 had the same mother and father. Aphrodite must've REALLY liked him. The youngest was scoping out every girl in the building. And I mean every girl. Demigod and wood nymphs alike. I'd heard he was particularly fond of water nymphs. But that's just what I'd heard. And the eldest, well he wasn't wasting time just looking at the girls. He was flirting with the girl up ahead of him. It seemed to be working pretty well for him too.

I grabbed my breakfast and tossed a portion of it into the fire like all half-bloods did as a way of pleasing their immortal parents. I then sat at my table and ate quietly while an almost overwhelming racket of kids voices filled the entire room. My friend, Cadi the wood nymph, came and sat with me as she always did when things slowed down a little. It was one thing I looked forward to as either she or I was busy most of the day and didn't get to talk as much as we wanted to. When she sat down I looked up from my meal to say hello and I noticed that dreamy eyed look about her...again.

"Did you get to breathe in the same room with him?" I asked, smiling at how ridiculous she was acting.

"Much better than that. He actually waved at me!" my friend replied.

"Impressive," I said calmly.

Cadi had this massive crush on a satyr who was fairly popular among the wood nymphs. So a wave was a pretty big thing.

"I'm so excited! This may be the first step to bigger things!" she almost shrieked.

I couldn't stop myself from laughing at her a little. Cadi was a great friend but she could be so silly about romance at times.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked. "Aren't you happy for me?". She seemed almost hurt.

"Don't get me wrong," I said. "I'm very happy for you. I know you've wanted this only for, like ever. And I want you to be happy but... sometimes you get so excited over a possible love it's just...silly."

"I'm a hopeless romantic. What can I say?" she asked without expecting an answer. "And besides, I'm not the only one with a crush..."

At this, she had my full attention. And I DON'T mean that in a positive way. She was treading on dangerous ground.

"Don't even go there..."I said coldly.

"Why not? I know you like him. You can deny it all you want to but I know you do," she said flatly.

That just irritated me. The whole situation did. I do confess I did like "him". Jason Lighton to be exact. But I didn't want anyone else to know that. Once people knew that fact I could be picked on from now till infinity. It'd be like a weak point somebody could stab at to blow off my reputation as somebody to be feared, a fact I reveled in at times when I wanted nothing to do with people. But more than anything, it irritated me because I didn't know how to handle it. Love was a fairly new concept to me and I hated how weird and weak it made me feel at times, yet other days I often wished I could participate in the weirdness. But it didn't really matter how I felt. Unlike a lot of chicks in camp, I wasn't even on a list of possible choices for dating. And my ability to radiate death and strike fear into people, which was intensified when under stress, wasn't helping matters either. But that didn't matter. I didn't need attention from guys. I could stand on my own. But in spite of it all I still wanted it at times when motivational words of independence were worthless in comparison to how I felt.

I was at a loss of words so I just shot her an intense glare. She just smiled at me like the enemy does right before giving you a fatal blow. She knew she had me when it came to this subject.

"I kinda think he likes you too," she continued, making me even more uneasy."I've seen him staring at you."

I tried to get off the subject subtly. "A lot of people stare at me when I fall on my face playing volleyball."

"You know what I mean," she said a little annoyed. After taking a moment to settle down, she tried again. "You really should go over and say hi sometime to him."

I had no control over my next reaction. I laughed at what she said so hard I had tears coming out of my eyes.

"What's the matter with that?" she inquired.

I managed to pull myself together enough to explain. "I think they're working you too hard or something. That's the craziest idea I've ever heard. I mean, think about it. I'm a daughter of Hades. Naturally the other kids here aren't that fond of me because none of their immortal parents get along well with my dad. Plus you're telling me I should hook up with a guy who is the son of Apollo! We'd be like night and day. There's no way it'd work!"

I then heard the sound of deliverance as breakfast time was over. I quickly got up and disposed of my dishes in the proper area. Cadi followed me and I could tell I'd irritated her to no end.

"This isn't over you know, "she said.

The way she said it just sent chills down my spine.

"Yeah, yeah I know. I'll see you later," I replied while heading towards the door.

"Yes, go ahead and run you coward," I heard her say, "Just wait till I get you back!"


	7. Chapter 7

Another update! We're a little over halfway through now. Btw, here's a small fact about this story. The title came from a song by Evanescence. I thought it seemed to fit with the character pretty well.

Chapter 7

You'd think with an ending like that we were bitter enemies. But that's just how we have fun. Only I wasn't so sure I was going to be the one having fun. That last look she shot me was one full of sneakiness as if she'd begun formulating a plan. I didn't want to know what she had cooked up but I was afraid I was going to find out, and soon.

The day's activities wasn't too bad. I had sword practice with some of the members of the Ares cabin. I was thankfully not paired up with one of the members that everyone called "The Annihilator". He was the best fighter in all of the camp and by the time you had finished practice, you felt annihilated. I'd know. I fought him once. But even thought he beat the life out of me he did complement me by saying I was "the biggest challenge" he'd had in a while. I wasn't sure if he was serious or just making a crack about my weight. Either way I managed to survive that activity and actually win some fights for once. A rare achievement but I was working on making it a more popular one. At least I had high hopes.

I did better in that field than archery. My skills in archery depended on what day it was. Some days I hit bulls eyes and other days I hit people...but I don't do that much now since I've practiced a lot compared to when I first came here. I didn't hit any people this time but I did come close. I shot an arrow within 2 feet of another camp member. Needless to say, they were not pleased...

Our swim time with the water nymphs wasn't too bad either. I didn't make last in the race this time. That was another thing I had improved upon in the last few years. The only real eye roller for that activity was that Aphrodite kid I'd mentioned earlier. The youngest one. Well he was at it again. Only this time he was living it up. The boy, "Bubbles" as he was called around camp, was sitting out his other activities just so he could have the naiads' attention for the day. There were about 3 clustered around him looking at him with big eyes as he was trying to impress them. Weather he succeeded in doing so didn't matter as they all seemed fascinated by his stand up comic performance.

I didn't participate in any more activities for the day. I had plenty to do back at my cabin. Especially since I had stuff to do in the home school area of my life. I tried to balance life at camp and getting an education which wasn't easy since I stayed away from home pretty much year round. My mom emailed about all the time, sending me my lesson plans for the week, my grade results, and just overall curiosity of how things were going for me. I found the latter part to be rather irritating at times. On my paranoid days I'd often wonder if she had a hidden camera somewhere in my cabin. I mean, I know parents are protective of their children, even more so in my case, but it just seemed like the line was being crossed at times. My mom had her ups and downs so I didn't really know what to expect from one day to the next. Despite it all I tried to be positive around her which could be hard because of how angry it all made me feel. But I wasn't really great at expressing myself around people at times so this was a helpful talent in it's own way. So that with the addition of the craziness of camp just made me want to shut myself up in my room and play some chaotic music on my ipod. Normally most mortal's and demigods used happy or calming music to cheer themselves up. Not me. I had to play something that described how I felt and let the feeling drift away in the music. Then I could move onto something more lighthearted. So overall I'm a unique person. Even by demigod standards as I'm the only child of the "Big Three", Zeus, Posiedon, and Hades. Well at least for now. But here I go again, losing track of what I was originally talking about. As I was saying, I was in my room working on a math problem late that night. One that I was not particularly fond of either. Math was ok, but I could think of other things I'd much rather be doing. Mostly it was my excuse to miss out on the sing-a-long, led by the Apollo cabin, around a great bonfire. My ADHD was acting up and I couldn't really concentrate on school and I really just wanted to be somewhere else. I had an impulsive urge to just go sit by the river where it was quieter with just the sound of water to fill my ears. So that's exactly what I did. I snuck down to the river without anyone noticing me and just sat by the edge enjoying my surroundings. It was a beautiful night. The moon was out full and it cast a beautiful mystic glow around everything I saw. I breathed in deeply the night air mingled with the moisture of the nearby water. It made me feel so alive! I felt stronger and ready to take on anything...well almost anything. I wasn't ready to take on what Fate was about to dish out on me. I wouldn't have been in a million years.

As I lay in the grass at peace with myself, I heard something behind me. I jumped up ready to defend myself physically or verbally.

"Hey, what are you doing out here by yourself?" Cadi asked.

"Oh, you know," I replied. "Just resting. Nothing calms me better than a night alone by the river."

"I was kinda hoping you'd join me and the rest of the campers in roasting marshmallows," she asked timidly.

"Oh no you don't," I said.

"Oh, why not?" she pouted.

"You know what happened last time I joined that."

"So?"

"So! Bumping into a child of Ares and causing them to catch their clothes on fire is no light matter! She still hates me because of that and..."

"That's been a year ago at least," she protested

"Anna's got a photographic memory, "I complained.

"She does not. You just seem so negative about things."

"...I don't feel like I'm being negative. Just stating the facts."

She seemed kind of upset. I'd pushed farther than I should have. So I tried to compromise.

"But I'll go if you want me to."

She instantly perked up. "Good! Now come on before all the marshmallows are gone."


	8. Chapter 8

Update again. Again, this was another favorite chapter to write. :D I hope everyone's liking so far.

Chapter 8

We got to a group of kids all mingled together in mini clusters talking and laughing and having fun. It was a lot of noise that I was growing accustomed to throughout the day. Sometimes it was almost deafening, stopping my thought processes, demanding to be heard. But it quieted down some when I got there. And then what I'd dreaded happened.

"Hey!" came a voice from the crowd.

I looked in the direction of the sound and there she was.

"Who said little Miss Fortune could join the group?"asked my arch nemesis Anna in a teasing way.

"I did," said Cadi,"and if you start something I'm telling Charion."

"Who says I'm starting anything?" challenged Anna.

Then she came and stood right up in front of me and I really was a "little" Ms. Fortune. I was only 5 feet tall. The shortest in camp for my age and Anna, well she was the tallest for all the girls at camp, standing at 5 feet 10 inches. I had to look up to see her face that obviously still held a grudge against me.

"Look here punk. I don't want to see you or any of your little friends, if you've even got any, near me and my crew. Got it?"

I gave her a dark look. One of my specialties. "Yeah, I got it."

"Good," she said and gave me an unsuspected shove that sent me to the ground. Needless to say I was slightly enraged. I was her favorite one to pick on because I wasn't trying to start any trouble. I took all her insults like a good little girl but I'd about been pushed to the point of not being so nice anymore.

"Are you ok?" asked Cadi as she helped me up. The silence of the campers ceased after that incident had ended and now people were going back to their previous conversations.

"What do you think? Physically I'm fine but-" I stopped there. The rest she could figure out by my irritated expression and frantic hand gesturing.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's ok. Don't feel bad. But if you don't mind I think I'll go back to my room."

"You can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"I have a surprise for you."

"But my birthday's not till tomorrow."

"I know but this can't wait."

"Ok. What is it?"

"Just wait here."

"But-"

She'd already left weaving through the traffic of people in search of whatever surprise she had for me. I wondered in a way if this had something to do with her getting revenge on me from our conversation earlier today. I sat there for a while eating marshmallows and having a short conversation with a few people. I decided that she must have been kidnapped, when I saw her walking with that satyr she'd had her eye on for so long. I was really happy for her if they were having as much fun as it looked like they were. But in the back of my mind I wondered if she'd get so caught up in him she'd forget about me and then I really would be alone. Realizing how selfish I sounded I pushed those thoughts out of the way. She looked in my direction and winked at me as if she knew something I didn't. I decided she'd forgot about the surprise and was getting ready to leave when I felt someone was nearby. I rolled my eyes. What did Anna want now!

"Hey."

It didn't sound like Anna...it didn't even sound like Cadi.

"Mind if I join you?" the voice asked.

I couldn't place who the voice belonged to so I said, "Sure."

When I saw who was sitting down beside me I nearly gagged on my marshmallow. It was him. Jason Lighton. Sitting beside me. Quickly, I checked my forehead to see if I was running a fever. I felt ice cold, which was normal for me. I was tempted to check his forehead to see if he was feeling ok but I didn't want him to know I was that insane, yet.

"So," he started a little unsure of himself. "I hear you're having a birthday tomorrow."

How he managed to sound so calm and cool I had no idea. I was a nervous wreck. I was stuffing my face without even realizing it and somewhere between all the marshmallows in my mouth the words "I am" somehow came out audibly.

He smiled at how silly I was acting I was sure.

"I was wondering," he hesitated a moment, "if you'd like to do something together tomorrow evening?"

At this I stopped everything...even breathing.

"Ok what's the deal?"I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Cadi put you up to this didn't she?"

"Well she had a little to do with this but-"

"I knew it!"

"It's not what you think. She told me that you were interested in me."

At that statement everything in the world stopped for me. _"She what?"_ I wanted to scream. _"When I get my hands on her, I'm going to let her have it!"_ I thought. For some reason Cadi was cursed with this ability to pass along information like that and think nothing of it.

But he continued, "Once she told me that, it made me feel a lot more comfortable about doing something I'd wanted to do for a while now."

"Ok. Maybe I won't kill her...too much." I decided.

"So, you mean, you did this because you wanted to?" I voiced aloud.

"Sure did. You seem like a nice girl, from the few times I've seen you. Which isn't too often. It just makes you seem so...mysterious when you're not around for a lot of the activities."

I smiled at this. I liked the idea of being mysterious.

"Well maybe if you're as fond of me as you say you are I won't be as mysterious as before," I found myself saying. In all the many imagined dialogues between me and him (yes I'd daydreamed about this more than I'd like to admit) I never saw that coming. He made me feel comfortable just with his carefree personality. Although I wasn't thoroughly convinced that he was feeling well, as he choose me over all the other girls in camp-who were much prettier-, I admitted I could get used to it.

"I like that idea," he said.

At that moment, our time was up. It was time for all the good little demigods to go back in their cabins and get some rest and be ready for another day of training and other various activities. At least that's kinda what Mr. D meant, put nicely. Mr. D. was the head of the camp and rather irritable because of his position. But most everyone learned to just hear what he said and ignore his tone as best they could.

"Mind if I walk you to you're room?" Jason asked as everyone was leaving.

"Um...sure," I said.

So he did. We made small talk discussing which activities we were going to participate in tomorrow.

"You know, if you want I could teach you a thing or two with that bow and arrow," he suggested.

"That'd be awesome. I could use some pointers," I said.

We then arrived at the doorstep of my cabin. Cabin 13. It's design wasn't relaxing for most with it's skeletal bones and black onyx architecture, but for me, it was rather cozy.

"This place still gives me the creeps," he said.

I kinda laughed. "I get that a lot." I started to back towards the door but he stopped me with a word.

"Hey, you never answered my question."

"What was that?"

"The one about you and me hanging out tomorrow."

"Oh, that one. Yeah. I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."

"Sounds great. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah. And thanks by the way for walking me to my cabin."

He seemed hesitant when I said that and then totally took my by surprise by leaning towards me and giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"The pleasure was all mine."

And then he turned and left.


	9. Chapter 9

Another update! And this is where the troubles really begin for our mc.

Chapter 9

I was wrong to think my adventures were over for the night. I still had one more visitor I wasn't counting on before lights out. When I opened the door there stood Cadi.

"How'd it go?" she asked, excitement bubbling off her in waves.

"It went ok," I said.

"Just ok? Nothing happened?"

"Well, he wants to do something with me tomorrow."

"I knew it would work! I'm so happy for you!"

She ran over and gave me a hug. I hugged back awkwardly. This hugging thing was still a little new for me.

"So you admit you were behind this whole scheme."

"Yeah. I told you I'd get you back."

A part of me was a little angry but I found myself laughing at the length she went to just to prove me wrong.

"I noticed you with what's-his-name. You two looked pretty happy."

"Oh yeah," she said and blushed a little, which gave her a green color to her eleven face. "I found out he'd liked me too for a while and hadn't ever gotten the courage to speak to me till tonight."

We chatted for a little while, catching up on what had happened to us that night. I didn't mention my farewell kiss. Cadi was already about to explode with excitement; if I told her that, she'd turn into one big bubble and just pop.

"I didn't realize it was this late! I need to get out of here before I get caught," she said at last.

"That's probably a good idea. It' nearly 11."

She got to the door and then her hand reached for her head.

"Are you ok?" I asked a little worried. I hardly ever heard of a wood nymph with head pains.

"I'm fine. My head just hurt all of a sudden. I guess I just need some rest."

"Well, ok. I hope you're better in the morning."

"Me too. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya."

The next morning i awoke to the sound of a blowout in my ear. Which was a rather rude awakening, especially since I wasn't a morning person. I rolled over with a start and there I found Cadi with a party hat on and holding that viciously loud blowout.

"Happy Birthday, sleepy head!" I heard Cadi say.

The last thing I wanted for my birthday was to be work up at an ungodly hour (anything before 8 is too soon), but, what can you do? I quickly hid the stuffed skelanimal I had been sleeping with before she had time to notice. The next to last thing I wanted was for Cadi or anyone else to think I still needed a stuffed animal's comfort from time to time.

"Hey," I said trying to sound more enthusiastic than I actually felt.

"I wouldn't have woke you up this early but I was excited to give you my present," she said.

"It's ok," I replied. I knew how Cadi could be about things, which was very unlike myself. I found that "quiet nature" she had was just for everyone else. When you were her best friend, you found that out relatively soon.

She pulled a wrapped box from behind her back. It was a small one so it cut down the possibilities of what it could be to a countable number. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and took the box she presented to me. She sat on the bed and I swear I could see the excitement shining in her eyes. I set on the task of unwrapping the gift and when I opened it, it was an amethyst necklace. Not just any amethyst necklace. It was her necklace. I was totally taken by surprise.

"You can't do this," I said, " This is your favorite necklace. You didn't have to give it to me just because I liked it."

"Well, you're my favorite person. And I just had this strong compulsion to give it to you last night."

I couldn't help but smile. This was defiantly worth being woke up early for. I didn't know what to say so I just gave her a hug.

"Thank you," I said.

"You're welcome," she said. "I hope you have a happy birthday."

"If it goes like it has so far, I'm going to have the best one ever."

I was never more wrong about something in my entire life. Sure it started out great but by the end of it was wondering who the jerk was that came up the phrase "sweet sixteen".

After Cadi left, I decided I'd best get changed and ready for the days events. One of the perks about it being my birthday was I could wear what I wanted which meant no orange shirt for me. I eagerly changed into my deep violet shirt and black pants covered in pockets. To top it off, I added my lace up combat boots. The air felt chilly outside so I took my favorite black jacket as well. Last but not least, I had to wear my new birthday present.

Breakfast went over well. And for once I wasn't the last one there. I guess getting up earlier contributed to that somehow. But that's where my luck ended in the game of life and I was kicked into the abandoned street. I could tell that as soon as my first activity of the day happened.

I was practicing sword techniques with the Ares cabin. And Anna was my opponent for the day. I knew as soon as we were teamed up I was dead meat. And I was right. I spent nearly an hour in the Infirmary getting patched up from all the cuts and bruises that covered my entire body. It wasn't too bad except for one cut across my leg that was particularly deep. It felt like an bottomless pit upon contact with alcohol but I survived.

My next challenge was archery class. I kid you now when I say challenge. It's hard enough shooting arrows on a good day much less when you've got cuts on you that are trying in vain to heal. I was about ready to shoot my target when somebody accidentally bumped into me. I wasn't sure who it was, but I had a pretty good idea. That was the least of my worries as I had loosed my arrow while I had been overbalanced and it was far from being on target. I heard somebody yell "DUCK!" and I knew that was going to be one of them days I shot at people. What I didn't know was that I'd be shooting at the only boy in the entire camp who'd actually shown an interest in me.

"Watch where you're shooting!" I heard Jason say. I felt so embarrassed and I knew my face was bright red.

"Sorry!" I pleaded.

He picked himself off the ground and for the first time, I got a good look at him. His bleach blonde hair shone in the sun and fell across his face in sweeping bangs, almost covering his eyes. His ice cold blue eyes looked into mine causing me to shutter. He wore one of those dreadfully orange T-shirts with "Camp Half-Blood" written on the front. He filled it out nicely and I couldn't help myself from thinking how good he looked in it. Of course I immediately wanted to smack myself. I was going to start acting as silly as Cadi if this kept up.

"Maybe I was wrong, but I was under the impression you were a better shot than that," he said.

"Normally I do better than that, but I lost my balance," I answered.

I cut a glare over at Anna who just acted innocent except for the pleased look she had on her face.

He seemed to get the idea of what I meant and let it drop. Thankfully.

"Well, let's see how good you are when you're not overbalanced," he said.

I got in my stance and fitted my arrow to the bow. I pulled the string back and released the arrow. It flew into the target sign but missed the bullseye quite a bit. Which wasn't too out of the ordinary. I could have done better, but I was nervous.

"Not bad," he said from where he stood back beside me. "But if you held it a little different and took a little more time, you could hit closer to the bullseye."

He came over and showed me how to hold the bow properly all the while explaining the fine points of archery. I didn't catch all of it as I not only felt but heard my heart beat racing as he positioned my bandaged hands to hold the bow better. By the time he got done helping me out, he sounded like he was tired. Which didn't make sense to me really. After a moment's hesitation, I released the arrow and it nailed the bullseye. I nearly jumped up and down I was so excited in my victory. I turned to face Jason and thank him for his help, but I stopped once I saw him. He looked like he was going to faint and his skin was turning pale. I dropped my bow and grabbed his arm to steady him. Once my skin came into contact with his, he winced as if he was in great pain and collapsed. By then a number of campers had noticed what was going on and rushed to see what had happened. One of the kids, who I recognized as one of Jason's half-sisters from the Apollo cabin, checked him to see what his condition was.

"He's...he's...dead...," she said shakily and burst into tears.

At that moment a strange ringing in my ears began, as if confirming my worst fears.

"Dead!" I cried, my mind reeling as tears began to fall from my eyes. "All I did was touch him!"

"Maybe that's all it takes, Miss Fortune," Anna sneered. "Daughter of Hades, Lord of the Dead."

This was all too much to handle. I began to back away from the gathering crowd. If it really was true, and I was the one that killed him with just a touch, then that made me a-

"Murderer!" I heard someone shout in anger at me.

And that's exactly what I was. A murderer. My hear beat went off the charts and I began to struggle with just breathing. I saw Cadi in the crowds and she locked eyes with me. Begging for me to not do anything irrational or impulsive. But when you're a half-blood like me with ADHD and you'd just been branded a murderer, you'd have done what I did. I run.


	10. Chapter 10

Another update! Thanks for all the reviews so far! (I quoted a Linkin Park song in this chapter too. So if you know LP see if you can find it)

Chapter 10

I didn't know how long I ran. Could've been hours, maybe even days. I still don't know for sure. All I know is I run. Until I had no breath and no roads left to run. I had run until I was at a dead end in a vacant dirt road street. A patch of woods lay up ahead of me and as soon as my feet touched soft earth again I collapsed. My entire body was shaking violently from my strenuous run. I felt like I hadn't slept in days and an even longer time since I'd eaten. But all those pains were but a trifle compared to my mental condition. I was still in shock over what had just happened. I'd spent all my running time just trying to come to terms with what I'd done. And I'd failed. I still felt horrible, guilty even at just being alive. I could see Jason's face in my head, haunting me and I was overcome by an overwhelming sense of loss. I felt as if I gigantic hole was forming in my heart. The moment I'd stopped running, was the moment all those feelings of guilt, pain, and anger at myself finally caught up with me and I just cried. I cried even after my dry eyes were unable to produce any more tears. I cried until I fell asleep.

Sleep was no comfort to me. My dreams were nightmares. Constantly reminding me of my deed. I could see him being judged in the Fields of Asphodel. The judges were determining where he would end up in the Underworld. The dream was so real to me I could feel it. As much as I wanted to wake up from the nightmare I couldn't. I was forced to observe it all and fresh waves of guilt washed over me all over again.

When I finally did wake up I was in the same place I was before. A fact that was no comfort to me as I'd hoped to wake up in my bed back at camp and find all of this to be just a horrific dream. I'd wished for that so hard I would've been thrilled to even wear one of them bright orange T-shirts. I was that desperate for all of this to go away. But it didn't matter any way as my wish never came true.

It was dark outside so I wasn't sure how long I'd slept. It was just beginning to get dark when I'd first arrived in my new environment, but now it was really dark except for the pale moon light that made everything around me seem to glow with a faint light. I felt terribly lonely and just wanted to cuddle a stuffed animal. They were perfect for when you needed company and people just wouldn't cut it. I turned to see the dirt road I had traveled on and in the distance I saw a light. It looked like headlights on a car and it was getting closer to me every minute. It stopped not far from me and it's headlights shown right in my face so I knew I had no reason to hide. Whoever was in that car already knew I was there. I stood up, a task that I found to be quite a chore as my body was physically and emotionally drained. I saw the car window slide down and I knew the driver wished to speak to me. So, like an idiot I went for it. Fortunately, the driver was not to be feared. Although some of you readers would probably beg to differ.

The guy looked normal. He had on a suit and tie and looked relatively neat and clean. Even his car looked nice. And expensive too. I'd heard Mercedes were no cheap cars. Overall, it looked out of place. The guy and car looked like they belonged in a rich person's house, not in some deserted road in the middle of nowhere. And I was far from rich and didn't know anybody that was wealthy. At least, that's what I thought.

The man turned to face me and I swear his skin looked transparent at times and I caught a glimpse of his skeleton."The Lord of the Dead wishes to speak to you," he simply stated.

Now that's something I didn't hear everyday. On top of all that madness of my day, now my dad wanted to talk to me. A fact I found exciting and terrifying at once. I'd never actually met the guy so I didn't know what to expect. From what I'd read in myths, he didn't sound like the happiest guy in the world. But I guess if your brothers had left you with the job of taking care of the dead and didn't ever act like they wanted you around, you'd be mad at the world too, I guess.

"What about?" I inquired. I hoped he didn't want to talk to me because he was mad at me for killing someone. I didn't think I could handle that.

"His business is his own," the guy said looking straight ahead as if expecting me to get in the car.

I figured by that response that the guy knew about as much as I did. as to why Hades wanted to speak to me. My curiosity won out and I got in the car. The interior was nice, with black leather seats and comfortable seating. Maybe it was a little too comforting or I was just dog tired because within 5 minutes I'd fallen again in a restless sleep because of my vivid nightmares.

When I woke up, I still wasn't in my bed back at camp. It seemed like that desire wasn't coming true anytime soon. I looked around and noticed my surroundings had changed...drastically. First off, I wasn't in that luxury car anymore. Second the driver was shaking me trying to get me awake. When I woke up enough to satisfy him, he said, "We are here" and then just disappeared into the shadows. I noticed the place I was in was pretty dark but I could still see how to get around. But more importantly it was huge. And when I say huge I'm not exaggerating. Actually it was bigger than huge. More like massive. And it was full of ghosts of people who had died in the past. I instantly knew I was in the Fields of Asphodel. I saw hundreds of faces of people I didn't know. All from different time periods throughout the course of history. The ghosts didn't seem really happy but they didn't seem to be sad either. They were just, content. Content to wander aimlessly throughout the Underworld forever, striking up conversations every once in a while; others, especially the children, were playing various games with each other. I began searching through the crowds of the dead, looking for Jason and hoping I could find him. But I never found him, or any other ghosts who knew of his location. Even so, the search was not in vain for in the midst of all the ghostly madness, I saw faces I recognized. One looked like my sister (on my mother's side) that I'd never had the privilege to meet. Another looked was my great aunt and the other one looked like my uncle. All of whom I'd missed dearly. I'd always looked forward to Christmas time with my family because my Mom always came and took me home for a while on the holidays to spend time with these people who were now gone from my life. Since their deaths things hadn't ever been quite the same. I had to fight the urge to try to talk to them. I wanted to so badly. To tell them how much I missed them and how much I cared about them. But I knew if I went to them, I'd never want to leave this place and I'd only prolong my inevitable conversation with my dad.

_"Besides,"_ I thought to myself, _"I'll be seeing them soon enough..."_

So grudgingly, I started to make my way out of the Fields of Asphodel.


	11. Chapter 11

Another update! This is the biggest chapter yet. Hope you all enjoy.

Chapter 11

I walked for what felt like days. The Underworld was huge already but it was even bigger when you have to walk all the way when you're already tired. The good news was sense I was a child of Hades, I had a built in GPS for the Underworld and I knew how to get to where I was going. Without that, I could've gotten lost easily, but I was able to find my father's palace within a reasonable amount of time. When I saw the place, I noticed right off that he'd spared no expenses. It was constructed out of expensive materials all of which were black or near black. The massive gate before me was composed of celestial bronze as was the floors of the palace. At least they looked like they were from where I was standing. Taking a deep breath, I dared to enter. Within a few moments I found him. He was sitting on his throne of infused human bones as if expecting someone. Me I supposed. Another throne was beside his but it was empty. It made sense to me as I remembered spring had come not long ago in the overworld and Hades's wife Persephone would be in the world above with her mother. When I got close enough to my father to see him, I was taken aback. I had no idea I had so many physical traits that were similar to his. We had the same pale skin, the same dark and intense eyes, and even though his hair was jet black, mine wasn't far from it. I had a hint of brown color that must have come from my mother. I noticed right off I hadn't taken after him in the height department because even sitting down he was taller than I was.

"I've been expecting you," he said at last and his voice sounded cold yet gentle. Considering his personality, I found the gentle part a bit unusual but I guessed he tried his best to be nice around his children.

I put my hands behind my back in formality, trying to appear respectful, despite standing pigeon toed.

"I came as soon as I could...father," I almost winced at the sound of my voice. I sounded so awkward.

"What did you wish to speak to me about?" I asked, this time erasing the doubt from my voice.

He didn't say anything for a moment and I just knew he was going to explode any second over what I'd done earlier. But surprisingly, he didn't.

"I asked you here, not for the reason you think," he said as if reading my mind. "Although we will get to that in due time. But I sent for you because I wish to give you something."

"You what?" I blurted out losing all my formalities. That pretty much blew me away.

A little smile seemed to tug at my father's lips. "Yes, a gift. For your 16th birthday."

I still stood there flabbergasted as he pulled forth a sword from beside his throne. And once I saw it my jaw dropped. The scabbard was gorgeous. It was decorated in rich patterns of purple and black, some of my favorite colors. The hilt was eloquently designed in a curving shape that ended in jagged points. The grip was wrapped in black leather and the pommel bore the image of a skull. He handed it to me and I graciously took it from him. I couldn't resist the urge to unsheathe it and when I did, I found the sword to be a black iron.

"It was forged by the River Styx and cooled in the river making it indestructible," Hades said. "It will only work for you, as only a child of mine has the ability to use the power in this sword."

"What power?" I asked.

"It will help channel your own powers over the dead. It can help you summon warriors from the Underworld when you have need of help. And it is as effective on immortals as celestial bronze."

"I...I don't know what to say," I stammered. Then I remembered the correct phrase for the situation. "Thank you." I felt a little better than before, not a whole lot, but I could manage a small smile now.

"As for that incident at that camp you stay at," Hades began and I instantly felt that small speck of happiness melt away.

"I can explain that...maybe," I said trying to defend myself even though I still felt as guilty as if I'd taken my newly forged blade and run it through Jason's heart myself. "It was an accident. I didn't-" Then I stopped. I new thought occurred to me that might help fix this whole mess.

"I know what happened," my father said flatly. "I do not hold you responsible for this." He paused for a minute in thought and then, "What is that you're wearing?" he inquired, a little on edge.

I followed to where his eyes were pointing and I touched my amethyst necklace.

"Oh, this was just a birthday present from a friend at camp," I replied. "What about it?"

"Let me see it."

I handed it to him. He looked it over for a moment or two and I could see his anger rising.

"The person who gave you this, did they seem to act, odd in any way before hand?" he said, his voice on the edge of an outburst.

I wasn't sure of what he was getting at but I tried to remember back to the time before Cadi gave me the necklace. "Yeah, actually. Cadi mentioned a headache the night before and it's really uncommon of her to have them. Plus she mentioned something about feeling "compelled" to give me the necklace."

"I knew it!" he yelled.

"What?" I asked. I felt completely in the dark about this whole thing. Which wasn't hard especially sense I was in the Underworld.

"Zeus! He's up to his old tricks again!" Hades roared.

I must have looked thoroughly confused because after he looked at me he set out to explain himself.

"My brother, Zeus and Posiden, and I all look an oath upon the River Styx after World War II took place in your world to never have any more demigod children. Our own children were what started the war in the first place. Of course in time Zeus and Posiden broke their oaths. They think just because they're in power on Olympus they can get away with anything they want, whereas I kept my oath. But then I met your mother. She told me she was incapable of bearing children so I thought I had nothing to worry about. And then you came along."

"And ruined everything," I silently tacked on.

"Ever since your birth, my brother Zeus has been plotting ways to kill you. That's why your mother left you at camp most all of the time. I warned her of this danger in advance because I knew it was coming. I have reason to believe your friend Cadi was compelled by Atë to give you that necklace."

"Who's Atë?" I asked.

"Atë is the goddess of mischief and a daughter of Zeus who was cast off of Olympus by her father. She's been trying to gain his approval ever since. From the reports I've received, he promised her a place in Olympus again if she'd grant him one wish. I know he's set on destroying you so I have a good idea what he wanted of her. If he could separate you from the rest, he'd get his opportunity."

I took a moment to take all that in. _"Great,"_ I thought sarcastically. _"Now I have the king of the gods for an enemy."_

"But what does all this have to do with my necklace?" I asked out loud.

"The jewel amethyst can be a great help or a great curse to my children," Hades explained. "It increases the power you already have until it is out of control. Your ability to send a person to the Underworld came out of proportion when you came into contact with the amethyst and just a single touch with a single touch you were able to kill the boy, Jason Lighton."

Relief swept through my body. It was so good to have conformation that it wasn't totally my fault and that it was just an accident. Yet I still felt a sting of guilt in the back of my mind. It was still me who'd been the one to touch him and watch him crumple to the ground, dead. I'd always feel a little responsible no matter how much I reminded myself if had just been an accident. A thought that helped call to remembrance the request I had thought of earlier and caused me to think of another request.

"If I may father, I'd like to make a request...2 actually."

He didn't seem very happy at that thought. The look on his face was one of a man who was always asked for something but never received anything in return. More like demanded rather than asked.

"Speak then," he said trying to hide his reluctance.

I hated asking more from him after he'd already given me a beautiful sword, but I just had to ask for this one other thing. "If it's possible, could you give Jason back his life on earth? I was the one who took his life prematurely from him and it's my duty to do whatever I can to give it back to him."

For a dangerous few minutes, Hades made no reply. Then he spoke, " I will grant you this request. On one condition. That you never wear that necklace again unless you're in a war...I don't need you killing people by accident and asking they be returned to the world of the living all the time."

"That's one condition I can live by," I said.

"Now what is this other thing you wish to ask of me?"

"I wondered, if maybe I could just, stay here? I have no reason to stay in the realm of the living. I don't belong around them. If I go back to camp, they're all going to hate me because of what I did. Jason will probably even hate me when he when he learns what happened," I said, my voice coming out angrily. "If Zeus is out to kill me as you say, he will only make it impossible for me to trust anyone. The only safe place for me is here. It's the only place I truly belong. Here, among the dead."

"If I had my way you'd stay here with me. I don't trust my brothers, least of all Zeus. But I don't really think you'd be happy staying here always. You'll have plenty of time here when your life ends. Right now you're just angry. A common fatal flaw among my children is holding grudges. And I think you're holding one against yourself and all the rest of the world."

I couldn't believe how well he'd nailed it. That was exactly how I felt but never truly realized it until it was spoken aloud.

"How did yo-" I started to ask.

"I've watched you child. When your friend Anna turned into your worse enemy I knew about it. I've been keeping a check on you ever since you were born."

Yeah, that's right. Maybe I forgot to mention that the girl Anna, my enemy at camp, used to be my best friend. It's not a subject I liked to talk about much. We both had a lot in common at the time so we spent a lot of time together. Somehow, rumors started that made out like I was just being her friend in order to do well at sword practice, which wasn't true. That had nothing to do with it. She was a good duelist and a friend so she helped me to train. Everyone kept egging on the rumors saying once I beat her at practice I'd have no use for her. She was always better than me so I never thought she'd pay any attention to the rumors. And one day I did beat her in a chance victory. If I'd known what would've happened, I would never tried to beat her. From that day onward she became my sworn enemy. And I've never felt comfortable making friends since then. I didn't want it to turn out like this again. Maybe that was part of the reason Cadi always tried to shower me with friendliness. And now I wasn't even sure I could trust her if the goddess of mischief was manipulating her.

My father interrupted my thoughts by speaking again. "One of these days you may need somebody but be too stubborn to admit it, and hurt somebody in the process. That's the trouble with resenting the rest of the world. Unless things get very dangerous, I want to keep you in the world above. Despite what you think, it is where you belong, for now."

"I'll give it one more shot but if things don't work out I want to come here to stay." I said.

"Fair enough," he said. "When you get back to camp you will find Jason alive again. I've made arrangements for you to get back to the overworld. You'll find your transportation outside."

"Thanks," I said and turned to leave but he stopped me before I left.

"Even though I'm forbidden to ever have children now, I'm glad you were born no matter how angry the other gods may be."

I was touched. Even thought Hades could be a stern and bitter god, he did have a soft side. He must have because his wife Persephone would never agree to stay with him if he was as cold and ruthless as history would portray him.

I smiled at him as my eyes started to cloud over with tears but they didn't fall. I didn't know what to say but an understanding passed between us and he knew what I meant to say if I could've found the right words to voice.

"Thanks again," I said. "For everything."

And I turned and left to take my ride back home.


	12. Chapter 12

Another update! Only one more chapter left in this story!

Chapter 12

When I got back to camp, the first thing I tried to do was find Jason and see if he was alive and well just like before our last encounter. I'd gotten my necklace back before I left the Underworld and had no intentions of putting it on again for quite a while. When I finally did find him, I also found trouble. He was at sword practice and his opponent was my old friend Anna. I knew this was coming at some point so I just decided to get it over with. I came out of the shadows I was using to conceal my presence and stepped forward. They both saw me at the same time, although they reacted very differently upon seeing me.

"Becca!" I heard Jason say excitedly. He almost ran over to me and gave me a hug. "I didn't know what had happened to you. I thought I'd lost you. Most everyone was sure you had run away and was never coming back."

I smiled at him and wanted so much to explain it all to him, but now was not the time. I had more pressing matters to attend to.

"What are you doing here?" Anna asked, her voice full of contempt.

"I live here," I snapped back.

"You shouldn't. After what you did,"

"It was an accident! I did the best I could to fix it. Is anything ever good enough for you?"

"Not when you do it."

At that point, I just lost my temper. I'd managed to stay calm and cool for years but now I'd reached my breaking point.

"If you're still angry about me beating you in a sword duel all that long time ago then why don't we just have a rematch to settle this?"

"It's you using me like you did that makes me hate you! Besides I beat you every time at practice now."

"I never used you. You just let everyone make you think that."

"Are you going to fight me or what? Name your terms."

"We use the weapon of our choice. If I win, you stop bothering me about something I didn't do and maybe in time you can find it within yourself to let this go. If you win, you can do whatever you want with me."

Anna seemed to smirk. I could tell she liked the terms. Mostly because she felt she could win easily. "When do we fight?" she asked.

"How about now?" I said.

"Sounds great." She then stormed off to gather he weapon of choice. I started to walk over to an area I thought would make a good fighting area when Jason grabbed my arm tightly. I tried to escape his grip but his strength was greater than mine, which just irritated me all the more.

"Let me go!" I demanded.

"What do you think you're doing?" he cried. "She'll pulverize you!"

"She probably will," I said. "But I have to do this. This has been going on long enough. It's time it's settled. This is the only way."

I looked in his eyes, willing him to understand. He seemed to be begging me not to do this just by the look he gave me but his words said otherwise as he loosened up his grip on me.

"If this is what you have to do, then do it. Just...come back in one piece for me ok?"

I smiled at his attempt to lighten the mood. "I'll do my best."

When I saw Anna, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to come back in one piece or not. She wore no protective armor, just a look that told me I was going to die. Her two-handed sword of celestial bronze shone in the sunlight and she readied herself for pressing an attack on me. I brandished my new birthday present from my dad, hoping it would come into good use. And it did. Just barely. I'd almost had it out of it's sheathe and she pulled a surprise attack. I blocked in defense and felt her anger pushing her sword against mine. Her eyes met mine and it was like looking into a burning fire. A trait she'd picked up from her father I guess. Children of Ares are relentless fighters, but when you fight one that hates your guts and isn't held back any, it's all you can do just to survive. She laid it on me, attack after attack. I felt like I was doing great just blocking all of her blows. I hadn't even been allowed time to consider pressing an attack of my own. I was too busy dodging a shimmering strip of bronze with a jagged edge to care. I'll admit it. She was almost as hard to fight as "The Annihilator". Almost. Our fight seemed to drag on forever. I was getting weak. I hadn't had a goodnight's sleep or food for a day or so and I knew I wouldn't last much longer. Unlike my opponent, who appeared energized just by being in the rhythms of battle. Jason stood by watching the whole thing. I could tell he wanted to help somehow but he knew just as I did that I was on my own in this. But even if I went down, I went down with a fight. I'd managed to give her a few cuts and bruises. Each cut I gave her managed to sap at her energy and I realized that was the power of my sword at work. Still, she managed to return the favor and much more frequently. I hadn't even fully recovered from our last fight which had just been practice. And it was because of this the fate of our duel was decided. She tricked me really. I was expecting her blade to strike at my exposed side, but instead she struck me where it hurt the most. You remember that deep cut I got on my leg in our last fight? Yeah. That's where she cut into and reopened a wound that hadn't fully healed yet. I cried out in pain and instinctively covered the wound with my free hand. I was limping and could barely stand up. She smiled knowing victory was within her grasp. She then brandished a small bronze knife and I knew then what she planned to do. She really was going to kill me.

"Now maybe justice can be served and you'll never hurt anyone ever again," she said.

"This isn't right, Anna," I heard Jason say as he grabbed his sword, ready to take action if it came to that.

I knew no amount of negotiation would stop her from her plans. Only action. So, I took action. I stood up as well as I could with an injured leg and held my sword up with the blade pointed down.

"Serve me!" I commanded almost in a whisper.

The earth opened up and 2 skeletal warriors appeared to back me up. I hadn't known how much of a drain that would have on me and I leaned heavily on my sword, depleted of energy.

But did that stop Anna? Sure didn't. I saw her coming but I had no energy to defend myself. All I could do was make a feeble attempt at it. But it was in vain. I was able to dodge one swing of the knife. But the next I couldn't avoid. She thrust it right into my side. I didn't even feel it go in. It was like I was in a daze. When she yanked it out though, I woke up from the daze, alive and rigid in pain. A lot of things happened all at once after that. The warriors I called upon for help began to attack her. She soon discovered any blow she gave them was fruitless as they were impervious to pain and already dead.

I collapsed on the ground unable to do any more. I heard Jason rush to my side. Gingerly, he picked me up off the ground, trying his best to be careful. I let out an antagonized groan because being moved was more than I felt I could take. The last thing I saw was his worried face.

"Don't worry," he said almost trying to convince himself more than me. "It's going to be alright. I'm going to take care of you."

And then my vision blacked out and I lost consciousness.


	13. Chapter 13

Well this is the last chapter of the story. I hope everyone's enjoyed it! I know I enjoyed writing it and reading the reviews. Thanks for the support guys! And tell me if you think this is squeal worthy. I haven't gotten any ideas for a squeal yet but if I do I'll put it up asap.

Chapter 13

When I woke up I found myself lying in my bed and bandaged in several places. I also saw Cadi sitting beside me looking pretty happy.

"You're awake!" she said.

"Yeah, I think so," I said. My head felt like it was throbbing; other than that, I felt fine. But that was just in a lying down position. I tried to sit up and discovered that was a bad idea. I felt sore all over and the throbbing pain only intensified in my head.

Cadi put her hand on me to keep me down. "I don't think you should try getting up just yet."

"I agree," I said."How long was I out?"

"About 3 days. You shouldn't have done something so foolish. It could've gotten you killed easily!"

"I didn't mean to worry anyone. It was just something that had to be done...how's Anna?"

She then set into explaining all the details of the events I had missed out on. Turns out, my call for back up did just what I intended it to do. Anna fought the two undead warriors for a while but soon found it to be a labor in vain as she could never kill them, much less wound them. And my favorite part was when they chased her off the camp grounds. She came back later that night when she thought it would be safe. The warriors didn't bother her anymore and had come to stand guard at the entrance of my cabin. There were still out there, awaiting further instructions I supposed. I found out from Cadi that Jason had been quite worried about me and had stayed with me for as long as he could. The only reason he wasn't here now was because she'd insisted that he get some sleep. He'd tried to ignore her advice but with camp training and little sleep he just couldn't do it.

After catching up on the news I had to elaborate a little on the details of my own adventure. When I came to the part where I learned she'd been influenced to give me that fatal necklace, she became very upset.

"I wished I'd never even seen that thing!" she cried. "It's brought us all so much trouble."

"Hey, you didn't know. Nobody did."

"I guess you're right," she paused for a moment. "So what's your dad like?"

"I dreaded meeting him at first, but he seemed like a pretty nice guy. Once you get past his intimidating factor and catch him on a good day."

"I'm glad you got to meet him on a good day," she said and laughed a little. "But you have to finish telling me the rest of your adventure."

Which is exactly what I did, while being careful to leave out the discussion abut me staying in the Underworld. An issue I was still considering going through with. When I finished, she said she had to leave and tell Jason all the news I'd given her, but not before telling me how "epic" my adventures had been.

I have to say though I found nothing "epic" about the recovery process. The ambrosia and nectar helped shorten the time span and visits from Jason and Cadi made the time seem shorter. Within the next day I was back on my feet although I wouldn't be ready for training until a couple of days later. My first order of business once I was up again was to release the skeletal warriors from my service. Anna didn't bother me anymore. I could tell she was still mad at me but now she feared me more than anything else. With that knowledge came the realization that I had lost a friend forever. But in the place of that loss there was another friendship that was growing. Maybe even more than a friendship.

Even though I wasn't sure I was up to it, Jason insisted that I watch him at archery practice. He was still determined to teach me how to make a good shot. He was an excellent archer, I have to say that. I knew I wasn't really great, but it still irritated me how he could nail it every time and I could hit the target maybe 1 out of 10 times, if I was lucky.

The evening before I started my activities at camp again I got together a few of my personal belongings and put them in my messenger bag. I'd decided I just couldn't stay here. If I hadn't fit in before, I really didn't now. Some tried to be friendly to me, like the 2 brothers of Aphrodite's cabin. Even "The Annihilator" tried to make conversation with me sometimes. But most everyone else was scared to death of me. It was like they were afraid they were going to be my next victim. I saw no other way out of it except to stay with my dad. I was right after all; I had no place among the living. I emailed my mom my plans but I didn't wait for a reply. I didn't want to know. I started to head away from the camp and took one last look at it before I'd leave it all behind. I walked a little ways into the woods when I heard a voice.

"Wait up!" came Jason's voice.

I turned around and saw him running towards me.

"I couldn't find you anywhere," he said. "I wondered where-"

It was then he noticed my messenger bag full of stuff and the look on my face that was trying to tell him goodbye.

"What are you doing?" he asked concerned.

"I don't belong here, Jason," I said. "All the kids are afraid of me. They think I'm going to kill them. And Zeus is out to kill me. The only place that's safe for me is the Underworld."

"You'll just be gone for a little while right?"

"I mean to stay when I go. I'm not coming back."

"But," he said perplexed, "you can't stay forever."

"This is the only way. Don't try to talk me out of it."

Tears threatened to spill from my eyes and I lost the strength in my voice.

"If you go," he said. "I'll be like Orpheus and you'll be my Eurydice."

I knew the story well. It told how a boy and girl had fallen in love and one day the girl died and went to the Underworld. The boy had been so heartbroken, he decided to travel to the Underworld to ask for his lover's life again. The boy had a gift for music and played the sorrow of his heart before my father and stepmom. Hades allowed the two to be reunited but as they ascended to the overworld, the boy was forbidden to look back at the girl until they reached the surface. Of course the boy was unable to do this and his lover was taken back to the Underworld leaving him alone on Earth, waiting for his death when they could finally be reunited once again...

"You're making this so much harder than it already is," I said almost begging him to stop speaking.

He looked so hurt when I said that. After all I'd put him through, I'd hopped I wouldn't have to hurt him again anymore but it seemed now I'd only made it worse.

"I hope you find another girl," I continued. "One that won't hurt you like I keep doing. Somebody who'd be worthy of your love. Because I never was."

"That's not how I see it," he replied, still comforting me in spite of it all. "Any lesser girl wouldn't have had the guts to ask the Lord of the Dead for such a favor as you asked for. Your boldness is what's brought me back here today to the world of the living. For that, I don't think I could find any other girl I could love more than you."

By now he seemed to have tears in his eyes. "Go if you must," he said. "But I will never forget you, Becca Fortuna. Nor can I ever love another besides you."

I looked him in the eyes and realization hit me. The words of my father echoed in my head. "One day you may need somebody but be too stubborn to admit it and hurt somebody in the process". I was breaking his heart. I had already killed him and here I was tearing his heart apart. And it was then I realized not only was I breaking his heart, I was breaking my own. I forgot all about safety and the rest of the camp. He was my major concern now. It was then I lost it. I ran into his arms and allowed the tears to fall. I couldn't control them anyway.

"I can't do it," I sobbed. "I just can't."

"Shh," he whispered as he stroked my hair. "It's ok."

"I can't leave you," I said. "I...I love you."

He lifted my chin up with his hand, forcing me to make eye contact. His eyes were bloodshot as if he'd been crying too. He smiled at me and then he did something I didn't expect. He bent down and planted a kiss on my lips. And then I did something I didn't expect. I kissed him back. It was the most wonderful thing I'd ever experienced and when we finally broke apart, I kept wishing it had been a few seconds longer.

"Shall we head back to camp?" he asked a moment later.

In spite of all the trouble I'd face at camp, with the king of the gods out to kill me, and all the campers scared to death of me, it didn't seem fortune was on my side. After all, I wasn't called Miss Fortune for nothing. But somehow with Jason at my side and Cadi's companionship I thought maybe, just maybe it'd all work out after all.

"You bet," I said.

So we both made out way back to camp, hand in hand.


End file.
